Of Love & War
by shattered melodies
Summary: The Doctor is currently traveling alone after dropping off Amy and Rory at their home, and the first place he lands is in a future Scotland, immediately finding a girl who nearly died from hypothermia and a severe beating. And so begins a new adventure with new companions and places and times to see. Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who!
1. Chapter 1: Alice

Of Love & War  
_Chapter One: Alice_

"Filthy peasant!"

"Stop stealing our food, would yah?!" Men in leather boots kicked her into a bank of icy snow. She was defenseless as the everlasting blizzard decided to add an extra layer of misery to the scene.

"Let's end this now, yeah?" Tall, shadowed men crowded over the teenager's body, whose skin was exposed to the unforgiving elements due to the lack of sleeves on her shirt. Not that it mattered anyway. "We'll teach you a lesson for takin' what's ours!" The torture began. Their fleeted boots began to collide with her, shredding skin and clothes, and shattering bones. Blood began to dot and stain the innocuous white snow that only added to her pain. No coat protected her or gave her warmth. Nothing softened the blow of their attacks in the least bit. This girl was left with a thin short sleeve shirt and shiny leather pants. The most peculiar thing was that she didn't scream. Even when they struck her, she barely uttered a squeak. They were ripping her apart with the blades of their cleats, but she didn't even grunt. It was as though this situation was ongoing, like she was used to the punishment. But this time was worse than usual. There were three men who attacked her at all once, leaving no breaks between each kick. They refused to hold back, so she began spitting up blood almost as soon as they started. They were yelling something, but it was all fuzzy; one of them kicked her in the head so her senses became impaired. The world around her began to spin as she closed her eyes, beginning to slip into unconsciousness. Some blood trickled down from her nose to signal it had been broken.

"Oi! That's enough!" A woman shouted. "She took some bread, don't murder her!"

"So we forgive everyone when they take from us, Elizabeth?" One of the beaters replied. "Man or woman; I don't care. She's taken loads of food from us… in times of war, of all times!" He shouted to the black sky overhead. "I will never forgive the likes of her!" He returned to beating her, nearly dropping to his knees to punch her with his skeletal fists. It was personal if he was punching; the rage was burning from her grey eyes and his gritted teeth. Just before he was able to, however, the woman named Elizabeth stopped him. The other two beaters lost their nerve and began backing away, finally seeing what they've done. Her arms were sprawled out to her sides, mouth agape. Who knew if she were breathing, because it certainly didn't look like she was. And the blood; there was so much of it and it was everywhere. All over her clothes and faces, on the frozen earth, and on their boots. Killing this little thief was never the plan; maybe they went too far this time.

"Stop it, John! Enough is enough!" She hissed in a voice that snapped the man back to reality. He gave the dying female one last look before turning away, trying not to realize the horror of his nefarious actions.

"Get back inside," Elizabeth ordered, John immediately leaving with his eyes to the ground. "All of you!"

"But, what about….?" Elizabeth took one last glance at the girl.

"Too late for her, I reckon. She'll probably be dead within the hour. Now get inside; it won't look good if you're hovering over her." With slight hesitation, they all made their way inside her home. "If she's lucky, people'll assume she was a war victim." Silence fell, the eerie quiet that came with winter returning. It was as though time stopped in this moment. Perhaps God was calling for this poor beaten girl. There was a churning sound, one that did not originate from Earth. It was distinct, and even though she was unconscious, she could hear the sound invade the safety of her mind. And it would be one she would never forget. Her savior was here.

This country is in a time of war. The United Kingdom began to fall apart as each of the four countries longed for freedom. It began in 2455; Northern Ireland wanted to reunite with the Republic of Ireland. And then Wales wanted to try being on her own. And then Scotland and her islands. England could only watch and wait; she was strong and could fend for herself as she had before, but the others went unstable. Rather quickly, too. Soon, they began fighting for international trades and supplies. Fleeing was futile; someone would find you and drag you back by your hair or fingernails.

Ordinary citizens were often left to die as well, abandoned by their once powerful country. They were left in the streets. So many people were without homes. With every war comes supporters and rebels, whose opposing views clash enough where violence against one another became the norm. Nothing was off-limits; they would burn down each others' homes or shoot them down if the opportunity came up. The citizens got in the way; they were always caught in the crossfire. The actions of the supporters and rebels alone have destroyed the homes and shelters of millions, increasing by the day. They would go so far to poison the masses' water supply and rot signature meats. It's no longer safe to remain in the once United Kingdom, but any means of escape was impossible. Unless of course, you could simply vanish from existence.

In the middle of a snowy path, a blue police box began to materialize out of thin air. It remained still for a brief moment before the front door opened and a gent in a red bow tie and a tan suit popped out.

"Huh, it's the year 2475, and I seem to be in… the Orkney Islands?" He looked up to the sky and as if on cue, the famous aurora borealis, the Northern Lights, lit up the sky in brilliant neon green and dazzling magenta. "Oh yeah, definitely the Orkney Islands!" He swung around as he talked to himself, getting a feel for his surroundings. "Ah, it's snowing too! I love snow, don't you? It's just as lovely." He turned to face the police box. "Come on, hurry up; you don't want to miss the sights - there are places to go and people to see! Chop chop!" He opened the doors and peered inside. "Amy, Rory, let's - oh, that's right, I just dropped you two back home." There was a sudden loneliness in his voice. His eyes darted around a million kilometers per minute, searching for something inside his transportation device. "More for me to see then!" He turned and walked approximately ten paces before discovering her rather lifeless body. His light smile evanesced as he kneeled beside her.

"Oh, you poor thing." He reached inside his suit pocket and took out what looked to be a small torch and ran its green light over her body multiple times. It buzzed in a somewhat high pitch but stopped as soon as he brought it in front of his face to read the results. The grime expression on his face said it - she had moments left if he didn't act. So act he did. "Don't you worry, love. You will be just fine." The mysterious man brought her inside the police box, which turned to be so much bigger on the inside. It was truly galactic; there must have been a million rooms, most the size of an auditorium.

Warmth. She was surrounded in warmth, a sensation she almost forgot existed. Was she dead? Did she finally escape that hell? Unearthly noises pulled her back to the surface until, very slowly, her sapphire blue eyes opened. Her breathing returned to a normal pace after a few sighs. A quilt hugged her, keeping her warm and stable. The female adolescent allowed herself a moment to regain her vision and other senses before attempting to move. However, the second she went to sit up, an electrifying jolt of pain shocked her back down. She gasped and even grunted a bit, her eyes twitching and her body clenching.

"Ah, you're awake!" That was a man's voice, speaking with a British accent. A man's grinning face appeared by the door in front of the girl. "You took quite the damage there. Broken bones, including your nose and three ribs, seventeen stitches on your chest, six on your cheek, and twenty-five on both your arms, and not to mention, a nasty concussion and internal bleeding. You feeling alright?" He approached her bedside - she was laying in an actual bed! - and watched her closely.

"Where am I?" She asked as her voice cracked from underuse. When was the last time she said anything, actually?

"You're in the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. But more on that later! All that matters is that you're safe now." He began gently stroking her brunette hair, knowing a wrong touch could send her howling in pain. "What happened to you, love?"

She hesitated for a moment but quickly decided that there wasn't any harm in explaining. He was nice enough to help her sit up in the bed. It wasn't ideal or particularly comfortable, but it was better to look him in the eye this way. "Just a couple of guys. You could say they needed a punching bag."

"But to beat up a young girl? That's unheard of, quite cowardly!"

"I stole some of their bread." She bit the inside of her lip, not enjoying the words that she spewed. "I live in a time of war. There's no food anywhere. Even though it's a horrible crime to commit, I was just trying to survive, even though my people think of me as a pesky thief." The mysterious man took a moment to look over this adolescent. She was skinny, quite underweight, actually. A girl of her stature should weigh about a hundred and ten pounds, but she looked to be barely ninety. Her cheeks were beginning to sink inward, and she was literally skin and bones. Did she even have an ounce of fat on her? Unlikely.

The man leaned in, his face serious and somewhat soft. "You were just trying to survive. I wouldn't hold that against you." This kindness was so foreign and strange to her. Where she's from, she would have been executed for admitting the truth.

"Are you the man who saved me?" Her eyes wide but unafraid.

"Yes."

"Why, may I ask?"

"I can't just let an innocent girl freeze in weather like this; that's horrible." She cracked a smile, however slight it was.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Eh, you could say that."

"That kind of mercy is unheard of where I'm from. Last kindness I ever witnessed was from my father. But he's been gone for a while now."

"Sorry to hear that… uhm, did I ever catch your name? How improper of me."

"I'm Alice. Alice Mulligan."

"Hello, Alice, nice to meet you! I'm The Doctor. That surname and accent of yours; are you from Ireland?"

"Yes, I was born in Cork."

"How'd you end up all the way north in the… Scottish Islands?"

"Mum and Dad traveled a lot. You know, work commitments. But… Orkney is where they died… and apparently so have I." It was the only reasonable explanation she could come up with. A man took her away, showing her a kind of mercy she hadn't seen in years. She had to have been dead.

"Died? What in the blazes are you talking about, dying? You're still very much alive, thanks to this IV!" He pulled up the bag with the drip that connected to the inside of her revealed right arm.

"I'm not in heaven?" She asked, sounding almost sad.

"Sorry, no. But don't fret, you'll be up and going again soon enough and then we'll be right off! Wherever you want to go; the universe is yours, past, present, and future! Though, I'd prefer not to drop you back in that devilish place. Literally Hell froze over. But if you'd like, we can go there." Alice chuckled and even smiled more. The way he just talked so fast amused her.

"Do explain?"

"Is there a particular time you'd like to see or a particular place?" She thought for a moment, her face scrunching a bit.

"You know, I've always wanted to see the composers of the late Baroque era. Like Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi."

"You sound like a musician."

"Well, I was classically trained on the flute!"

"Of course you were…" The two shared a laugh.

"Fancy a trip there, yeah?" He was grinning again, and it was quite contagious.

"How do you expect to get there?" He kept grinning, waiting for her to catch on. Her face nearly melted in surprise when the puzzle pieces were being connected in her mind. "You don't mean… this place?"

"Oh yeah…" He jumped and ran into another room out of Alice's sight, but she could still hear him.

"Doctor, are you serious?"

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" He fumbled with switches and gizmos, running around like a madman. Maybe he really was a madman.

"Wait, Doctor!" He stopped what he was doing and appeared. "Am I going to be alright?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't you be? You'll be back on your feet within a few hours, I propose!" And with that he returned to his work.

He showed Alice an unbelievable kindness, one that had been lost for many years. What was it about him that she felt like she could trust? Mothers always say to not trust strangers, but this time may be different. He saved her life and even tended to her injuries. She couldn't deny that this was reality anymore; it was far too strange to be a mere dream. It didn't matter. Her fears were about to disappear for good.

"Geronimo!" The Doctor yelled lively as the TARDIS shook violently in all directions. They were off.


	2. Chapter 2: Past

**Enjoy, favorite, and review :)**

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Of Love & War  
_Chapter 2: Past_

Surprisingly enough, it took a couple minutes to travel through time. The TARDIS, when she did land, hit the ground with a loud thud. Alice grunted in pain, her eyes closed and twitching. Her injuries remained too severe for her to move for another hour or so; her bones were trying to repair the damage thrust upon them and her body was trying to process what just happened.

"You doing okay over there, Alice?" A man who called himself, "The Doctor," asked from the other room. He saved her life; if he didn't arrive when he did, she would have surrendered to the darkness by now.

"I'm fine, Doctor," She replied, holding her midsection. Her fingers brushed against several bandages. Her ribcage had gotten the worst of the beatings, even though her entire body ached.

"Believe it or not, I have to grab some medicine. Some for you, and some to keep in storage in case anything should happen."

"You're leaving?"

"Only for a few minutes. It shouldn't be too hard to find. The French have brilliant medicine, but so does Japan. The Japanese have wonderful medicine. And food! You probably need some, too. I'll be sure to find some as well; that's important int the healing process. Anyway, I'm off!" And he left like that, closing the blue doors behind him quietly.

Alice remained laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She'd been on the TARDIS for about a day now, most of which she spent sleeping. The Doctor spent a couple hours out and about, wandering around a couple towns. His head was always looking up at the skies looking for something. Those eyes of his were never more longing; perhaps he was missing a former companion or two, or perhaps his mind was revisiting an old memory. He never failed to return to the TARDIS, whether he was gone for a few minutes or a few hours. When he did, he always went to check up on Alice. She slept through, of course; but he had to make sure she was comfortable. He loved humanity because of its potential for greatness, and to see one of them suffer; he had to do something to save it. One person at a time if the situation called for it.

She was peaceful. Had she slept this soundly before? After years of being alone and not feeling a gentle warmth, she was at peace. That didn't hide the bags under her eyes. And every time the Doctor stroked her hair, his fingers would brush against her temple. He could see it all; he saw the glimpses and fragments of her past. The people of her village were foul because of war; it tore them all apart. Alice held no ill-will, either…

Her pain was beginning to subside when the Doctor was out and about. She could make fists, wiggle her toes, and sit up a bit, all on her own. She took it one baby step at a time; she didn't want to hurt herself any more than necessary. She could soon turn her head and roll her shoulders back. When the Doctor returned with the medicine in hand, he found her trying to stand on her own. She was also chuckling at the sound of her bones cracking and snapping.

"Already trying to get up, Alice?" He came in rather fast, his expression a bit concerned and a bit surprised.

"Yeah, why not try?" She was shaking tremendously, faster than the wings of a hummingbird. Human bones usually take weeks or even months to recover, but she was getting it all done within a day and a half. "It's a secret" was the Doctor's response when she asked. Alice managed to stand beside him, her long brunette hair hanging low from her head and her arms merely drooping form their respective socket. She even had a little hunchback.

"How's it feel?" He asked, ready to catch her at any second.

"Stiff, but it's best to get the blood going. Been laying for a while." It actually hurt to stand, but thankfully the hair covering her face covered the pain written across it. She managed to stay up for a minute before flopping onto her bed.

"Medicine time!" He helped her against to sit up and handed her a small white bottle. "Now take three big sips. I'm also going to have you keep talking as the medicine enters your bloodstream, lest you want to never wake up again." He clasped his hands together with a toothy grin on his face.

"…what?" She didn't want to drink this anymore. "What kind of medicine is this?!"

"It's a future medicine, future for even you! You see, it helps your bones solidify and become much stronger, like super concentrated calcium. It's fantastic actually; it really works, however, the side effect is just extreme drowsiness."

"And why would I talk?"

"So you don't fall asleep, of course! Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

She watched his unmoving face for a minute before succumbing. "Fine," She said, almost reluctantly taking the three big gulps. It took everything in her power to not spit it out and to actually swallow it; it tasted about as appetizing as a combination of bugs and desert sand. Not to mention it burned the back of her throat."Why can't doctors create a medicine that actually tastes good?" She shuttered, holding her hand over her mouth in case she were to hurl it all back up. After a minute, she settled. "Okay, so what should I talk about?"

"Anything really. What life was like back in Ireland, your family… you know, anything happy." By the time he finished his statement, Alice could already feel the powerful drowsiness trying to persuade her into unconsciousness.

"If there's anyone in this world that I love, it would be my father," She started, sitting back against the headboard. "He really liked being a dad, too; you could tell by the way he handled the three of us. He was the greatest man I've ever known." She looked down at her hands, her facial features perhaps giving a hint that she was back in her memories. "I think it was a role he was born to play, you know? Being a father and all. He wanted a big family and a lot of love within that family. It all happened for him the way it should; found a proper lady, they fell in love, they married, and created the family. When we came along, he was always there for us; for Molly, Ian, and me. He always attended our meets, whether they were sports, academics, or musical. He was always thinking about us. H never wanted to miss a thing. He would even sit us down when we came home from school and ask, 'have you done something that you like today?' And we go on and tell him stories that happened to us that day. Whenever we brought friends over, he'd treat them like they were his children as well and made us all feel so loved. I can't even put into words what he's done for us. He probably sounds like the typical dad, but I swear he was greater."

"I believe you." They both smiled, not to each other but to their hands. They couldn't look at each other at the moment, as they were lost in their minds.

"I'll never forget, though," She said as she looked to the ceiling again. "Whenever it was especially cold outside and the skies were clear, he'd bring my siblings and me out into the backyard with the telescope and he'd teach us about the universe, about how we aren't the only lifeforms in this big picture. He'd look through the telescope and we'd lay out on blankets as we watched the stars twinkle." Alice didn't see the ceiling anymore; she saw the night sky of her memories. "It gave us something to look forward to in the winter. I'd tell my best friend and even she came over to observe with us at one point. My dad promised to show us those stars one day."

"I guess I have some taking over to do."

"What?"

"I can show you the stars. Anything in the universe, really?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Sure. Actually, as much as I deny it, it's better to have a companion with me. But that'll be our little secret."

"Show me the stars and I'll gladly be your companion. For as long as you like." She could now face him and look the Doctor in the eye with mixture of seriousness and calmness.

"You've got yourself a deal, Mulligan!" Alice continued to talk about her father. She told the story of how her parents initially fell in love, of his courageousness in the time of war, of his unsurpassed sense of kindness, and of his demise. Slayed by the enemy. She was only eleven years old.

"I can never remember where I found out about his death. Every time I get close to remembering, a big door in my mind shuts me out."

"That's your mind's way of saying keep out and forget. Perhaps it's afraid of what's on the inside."

"Still drives me mad." The Doctor took a quick glance at his watch to check the time.

"Blimey, all this talking chewed up an hour of time. You will be absolutely fine. You can rest your vocal chords now. Probably should have some sustenance as well." Alice sighed, a bit glad that she didn't have to speak at the moment. He handed her another bottle, but it was clear and had "Smartwater" written across it in blue. He also handed her a loaf of bread, in which she broke it in half and gave it back to him. "You need to eat, too" was her reasoning. They bickered back and forth for a few minutes, neither wanting to give in to the other.

"You're skinny; you need to get all your strength back!" He argued.

"You're skinny too!" She rebutted. "Besides, after being on my own for so long, it'd be nice to eat with someone. Food is precious, but so are the people around to share it with."

The Doctor sighed in defeat. "There's no way I'm going to say no to that." He took the break as they both enjoyed a moment of quiet amongst themselves. He brought out more bread that Alice insisted on breaking in half to share.

"Sharing is caring, Doctor! Haven't you heard?" She teased with a bright and toothy grin. He shook his head and stood up, ready to continue and move forward, once she had finished eating the bread, of course.

"Alright then, Mulligan," He said. "Do you want to try standing again?"

"Sure thing." Just as easily as if she would normally do, Alice stood up. It was as if she was never injured. She stretched her arms, kicked her legs, and bent her joints. No pain whatsoever anywhere. A gigantic smile appeared as she laughed in excitement.

"Bloody hell, look at this!" She exclaimed, jumping onto the bed and planting a big kiss on the Doctor's forehead. "Nicely done, sire!"

His eyes went wide as his hand touched his forehead where she kissed him. "Uh, yes. Erhem, Are you ready to see those stars now?"

"Take me away!" She jumped off the bed as the two of them ran off into the main control room. "Late Baroque era, here we come!" This time, Alice got to see how the TARDIS worked. The Doctor was pressing a million buttons that only he seemed to comprehend their significance. He ran around her center, pressing those buttons until finally pulling a lever.

And then, they were truly off. It was a bumpy ride, of course; they were thrown off their feet a couple times. Things settled down within minutes and they were on their merry way; the Doctor out the door first, Alice mere seconds behind.

"Where are we?" She asked, stepping out of the TARDIS and gazing at the alleyway they landed in.

"If I'm not mistaken, we're in Venice," The Doctor replied, leading Alice out of that dark, narrow place and into the sunshine.

"We must be seeing Vivaldi if we're in Venice! My best friend absolutely adores him."

"He was a brilliant man, actually! Perhaps a little cocky; he once told me that he could write music from God Himself sang to him. At least he has the talent to back it up."

"…You met Vivaldi before…?"

"Of course I have! I've seen all the greats, Mulligan!"

"I so envy that." Something suddenly clicked in her mind. "We… we really just traveled, didn't we?"

"Back in time, too!"

"Scientists said we were still centuries behind acquiring that sort of technology! Are you…" She hesitated for a moment before putting her hands to the corners of her lips, as if she were telling a secret. "Are you from the future?" The Doctor blinked a couple times before chuckling a bit.

"I most certainly am not from the future. I'm actually from the planet, Gallifrey."

"So what are you, some kind of alien?"

"To you, I am! I prefer to be called a Time Lord, hence the ability to travel back in time in my trusty TARDIS."

"That is probably the coolest thing I've heard yet." Alice smiled, a big grin on her face. She looked and acted more and more like her with every second.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty cool." He adjusted his suit and bow tie before clapping his hands together once habitually. "Onward! Come along, Mulligan."

They walked around the art capital of the world, exploring the town. Alice was so in awe of the beauty of Venice - the art, the canals, the architecture - that she nearly forgot that she was now a party of two. But Venice, however much beauty there was, was suffering greatly economically. They passed by numerously people on the streets who hung by the gutter, eyes lost in the misery of their personal demons. They were keeping warm by means of ditty drapes.

"This doesn't seem right…" Alice muttered to herself. "By the time Vivaldi was born, the two wards that plagued Venice were done and over with…. but these people are definitely plagued by war." She grabbed a newspaper from a young man with a large stack of them by his side. "…Doctor, I said _late_ Baroque, not _early_ Baroque…"

"Gimme that," He said, snatching the newspaper and seeing "16 September 1628" written across the top. "Perhaps I put in a wrong number. Wouldn't have been the first time."

"Senile, much?"

"I am over twelve hundred years old; what do you expect? Blimey, Alice."

Alice smiled in response. "How do you live so long, Doctor?"

"Two hearts help. You humans drop like flies compares to Time Lords." The two friends walked along a stone pathway, following one of the many rivers.

"Well, since we are here… we could check out an opera. Oh, I wonder what Schutz is up to."

"Did you say Schutz? As in Heinrich Schutz?" A mysterious voice asked from behind them. They stopped immediately and twisted around to see an elderly woman, shrouded in fabrics.

"Yes, do you know him?" Alice asked.

"Oh, child, everyone around here knows him. Especially now."

"Did something happen to him?"

"Oh, yes, child. Musicians haven't been paid a reasonable wage in quite a few years, Schutz being one of them. And three years later, he still can't get over the passing of his beloved wife. His children have to stay with Grandmother as well, so he's so torn apart right now."

"I'm sorry to hear about that."

"However, rumor has it that he and Claudio Monteverdi are studying together within these walls…" Her arms waved in the air to say "the walls" meant the city. Alice had to choke down her excitement. Those were two famous composers of the Baroque era; Monteverdi having changed history with commercial opera.

"You don't say?" Alice said, putting her hand over her lips to cover the quivers it made

"If you'd like, I can take you to him." The way the woman smiled was quite unusual. To the unexpecting victim, the elderly woman was just smiling kindly. But if you looked close enough, there was a glimmer of darkness in her eyes. She was not to be trusted, no way in hell.

"No, thank you; we'd best be on our way, right, Mulligan?" The Doctor said, taking Alice's hand and squeezing it a bit roughly as if to say, 'we need to leave.'

"What are you talking about? I want to see Schutz and Monteverdi!" Alice insisted. "Can you really take us to them, madam?"

"Of course, child."

"Then we're going." Alice followed the woman as she walked away, down the stone path. The Doctor sighed at her naivety, muttering something about how no one ever seems to listen to him, before running after them.

"Alice, listen to me; we need to get back to the TARDIS right now." He whispered in her ear as low as he possibly could. They had just entered a dimly lit, damp alleyway. "It's too dangerous."

"Five minutes; we'll stay for five minutes, then we'll leave. That's all I'm asking for." She responded in a hushed voice.

"I don't compromise, now let's go!"

"Doctor, what is your deal?" The two of them had stopped walking to quietly argue with one another. "She's just an old lady. Stop freaking out. There's nothing to worry about!"

"Oh, I don't know if you could say that, child," The elderly woman said with a chuckle. "I'm afraid… that even if you wanted to… you can no longer escape!" The lady turned around and grinned from ear to ear with a sickly wickedness in all those wrinkles. Her grey eyes lit up with excitement as she straightened her once hunched back and began to shift. Alice looked in horror at the once elderly lady and then turned around, hoping for an escape.

"Okay, so, uhm… maybe you were on to something after all, Doctor… I'm sorry," Alice said, shaking a little bit at what she was seeing.

"Now you listen," He muttered, turning around to see that they were not in fact, all alone with that woman. "Oh, hello."

"Hello again, Doctor," The red creatures said, grinning to expose their many razor sharp teeth. They probably never heard of toothpaste either; their teeth were more brown than wood. There were many of them as well, probably a couple dozen alone hanging from above.

"What are those things?" Alice asked, truly regretting not listening before.

"Oh child, we are the Zygons." The once elderly woman whispered in a low voice.

"Red with suckers all over their bodies, humanoids with a nasty poison. Nasty little buggers," The Doctor explained briefly and rather calmly.

"What do you suppose we should do?"

"Just stay with me." He took her hand and stood almost completely in front of her. "Now I'm positive we can all reach an agreement here." Of course not. One of the many Zygons jumped forward, initiating the start of a battle. The scene became a blur, as the Doctor and his new companion ran out of the alleyway to escape the newfound danger. As much as they tried holding each others' hands as they ran, adrenaline coursing through their veins, they couldn't hold on for long; it slowed them down too much. They were both pretty fast; Alice had enough practice running away after taking her fair share of food.

The Zygons were surprisingly fast for beings of their size. For the most part, they remained right behind them, often just centimeters away from injecting their poison into their enemies' backs. Soon enough, they tired themselves out by running so much. Or so they wanted them to think.

Alice and the Doctor, once they felt like they were safe enough to stop for a moment, stopped to catch their breaths. They were now in the heart of the city, surrounded by buildings.

"I'm sorry, Doctor…" Alice said, trying to catch her breath quickly. "I didn't know."

"It's quite all right, Alice. We're safe now." He replied.

"What were those things again, Zy…?"

"Zygons. They're always trying to take over other worlds."

"More aliens. This day keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"You definitely look affright, you poor thing," He spread his arms out wide. "Come here." Alice took a moment to realize he was looking for a hug. How long had it been since someone hugged her or she gave someone a hug? Far too long. She embraced him, kind of happy to remember what a hug felt like. It was like hugging her father after returning from school. Warm and welcoming. She could almost hear his voice in her ear.

So it took her by surprise when she felt some sort of stabbing sensation in the small of her back, following by an intense burn. She gasped as soon as it happened, her eyes widening immediately. She could hardly breathe nor move; the burn traveled up her back at rocket speed and quickly spread to the rest of her body. "What are you-?" She gasped.

"Oh child, didn't he teach you…" His voice began to change into the one that belonged to a Zygon. He even began to shape shift into one. Alice screamed with her last breath until no more air could escape. And then it was all fuzzy. "…don't trust the enemy."


	3. Chapter 3: Vitiosus

**Hello! Just putting a disclaimer here: I'd rate this specific chapter M for mature audiences because it dives into blood, gore, and torture. Read with caution!**

**But as always, enjoy, favorite, and review! Thank you for the love. :)**

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Of Love & War  
_Chapter Three: Vitiosus_

"Rise and shine, Miss Mulligan!" Her servants said cheerfully one bright morning. The sun was beginning to peek through the translucent black curtains and twinkled over her eyes. "Time to get ready!" Just as she opened her blue eyes, they helped her get out of bed. They were wearing big smiles on their faces and black and white French maid dresses on their bodies, typical outfits for typical servants.

"Morning already, huh?" Alice said with a yawn, bringing her hand up to her mouth to catch said yawn. She could feel the bags under eyes drip further down her face; she never got enough sleep.

"Now, which dress do you want to wear to the commencement today?" One of the servants asked as they nearly carried her to the closet.

"This pur-" Alice began but alas, was cut off.

"This red gown is perfect!" The other servant said in a high pitched squeal. "Now let's begin!" The servants didn't ask permission before ripping her pajamas off. They didn't ask permission to put her in this long, strapless dress that weighed more than her. They didn't ask permission to do her hair up in a fancy bun, do her make up, or spray her with soaps and perfume. The fact is, she couldn't expect them to ask permission before doing anything to her; it simply wasn't her place to do so. Her body didn't belong to her; it belonged to the rest of the world. When the two servants finished their job, to beautify the young lass, they were in awe at their work.

"Wow, we really did our best this time around!" One servant said, almost in tears.

"We've been doing this for so long now and we finally got a decent look down! I'm so excited!" The other one said, fanning herself to keep her tears at bay.

"Now, breakfast is waiting downstairs, Miss Mulligan; don't dilly-dally up here for too long!" They said in their cheerful, soprano voices as they finally left her alone in peace.

Alice Mulligan. Female; eighteen years old. Ambassador and the world's sweetheart. That's how it's been since the Zygons arrived. Peaceful beings, or so they want everyone to think. The human inhabiters were skeptical at first but grew to enjoy their company over time. Zygons grew to celebrity status but many remained unconvinced of their peaceful nature. So in response, they began to tour the world, helping to set up charities, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and advancing technology. Wherever they went, they were helping the human race with all of their maladies. They even adopted Alice from an orphanage, and brought her around on the tours; she provided insight on how wonderful life has been for her ever since the Zygons came. She has all the food she could ever need, a huge, warm home to live in, and the most comfortable bed to sleep in every night. She finally received real clothes and was able to see the entire world, spreading the message of the Zygon.

How she wished she could tell the entire truth.

Alice starred at her reflection with a bit of sadness. It was the color or blood with silver beading running from the top to the bottom, following the curvature of the dress. It poofed outward at her waist like a ball gown and covered her legs and feet, even when she wore heels. Her face was covered in makeup, from foundation, concealer, blush, and mascara. Her eye lids and the bone of her eyebrow were smeared with a glittery orange eyeshadow and her lips were colored bubblegum pink. She looked like a celebrity ready for an award ceremony, airbrush finish and flawless. She looked like she meant something in this world, but she knew the truth.

Alice looked at her hands, whose nails were just as blood red and crimson as her dress. She couldn't help but think, _'now my nails match my hands, covered in people's blood.'_

_Knock, knock._ Alice's mind returned to her body when she heard someone at the door.

"John, hello!" she said to the tall, skinny man outside her room. A legitimate smile graced her lips when she saw her friend, one which he returned. "I'll be down in a moment. I was just…looking in the mirror." He couldn't respond verbally to her; he never has been able to. He just looked in the mirror himself, starring at his and her reflections. He, too, had to dress up nicely; he wore a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt underneath.

"I think you're missing this, John," Alice said, giving him a small, rectangular box. He opened the top and immediately grinned. It was a black bow tie, something he always had a particular fondness of. Alice helped him to wrap it around his neck and then tie it. John took her hand when she had pulled it away and squeezed it to say "thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, knowing his way of communication. Just as she was about to pull away again, John moved his lips in a way that looked like he was trying to say something. He did this sometimes, but Alice never knew what he was mouthing. She was never good at reading lips.

"I still have no idea what you're saying, John," Alice said with a sigh. She looked up at him, remembering a somewhat concerned look on his face, but the next time she saw the expression on his face, it changed to a happy grin. It was like a glitch, but this happened every now and again, so it didn't bother her too much. John put her arm out like a gentleman, to which she gladly took.

"Onward!" she said, and they walked out of her room and down the spiraling staircase to find a crowd of both humans and Zygons waiting for their princess. They all dressed in exquisite and elaborate outfits in all the colors of the rainbow. Millions of flashes from cameras went off as the couple made their way down the stairs. Adoring fans nearly fainted at the sight of them together, both beautiful and angelic in style and grace. They both remembered to put on their best smiles for all the camera; they were supposed to be happy, especially Alice. She was their prize gem, after all.

One of the Zygons at the bottom of the staircase, her "host father" you could say, took her other arm. "Good morning, sweetie," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Morning, Father," she replied.

"You look beautiful." He turned to face all those cameras. "Doesn't she, folks? Absolutely beautiful!" The crowd roared in agreement.

And then they were on the public stage within a second, just like a glitch.

"Hello, people of London," Alice said into the microphone. She stood on top of a wooden stage, her blood red dress flowing outward. John Smith stood beside her, with her father on her other side. The sun shined down on them, one comfortably warm day. The crowd was full of humans and Zygons alike, and it looked like they were having picnics. "What an honor it is to be with all of you today; thank you for having me." She bowed in respect and the crowd began to swoon in unison at her grace. My, how the inhabitants of Earth loved her. "I'm here to tell my story, though I'm sure it's one you've heard time and time again." She stopped to smile at the ground and chuckle under her breath, a nervous habit of hers. "My parents died when I was eleven because of war. They fought valiantly, but perished, leaving me all on my own. For a couple years, I lived in an orphanage in Scotland, miserable, malnourished, and lonely. That's when the Zygons appeared. When they came in, they rescued me from that hell and gave me everything I could ever need and more. I'm safe and warm, and I've never been happier. If you're still skeptical about them, let me put your fears to rest. The Zygons want nothing more than to be our allies. They want to help humanity with all of our endeavors. Zygons are friends!" She forced herself to smile bigger as her nerves were beginning to get to her. For a moment, she put her hands behind her back to hide the fact that she was trembling. She knew what was coming. The crowd, ignorant to the future, jumped in joy at Alice's words. She could start an army with one of her speeches. "Do not be afraid. In fact, come forward!" Her voice cracked with the final word. They were always a little rehearsed, and she couldn't hide the tiniest bit of a robotic tone at this point, either. She held her hand out and stared directly in front of her. One could never tell that her heart was about to beat of her chest; it was going so fast.

Humans - and humans alone - ran onto the stage, following Alice's Zygon father into the building behind the wooden stage.

"Be one with my Zygon family; they await you!" The Father Zygon said joyously. The crowd cheered as they entered the building, laughing and cheering at all the possibilities behind the front door. Alice and John Smith followed behind, Alice's forced smile slowly melting into a horrified frown when she entered the building.

The screams and horror wouldn't stop. She saw the blood splash everywhere, even as she watched from far above. The Zygons captured the humans, rounding them up like cattle. They took them one by one, first beating them down like the savages they are, injecting them with their poisonous venom then stealing their very skin. One Zygon holds them up and steadies them as another sinks its tiny, razor sharp teeth into their necks, slicing and peeling away at the organ. It was always a slow process, but it remained agonizing. As Alice watched, she could feel them rip away her own skin, even though in reality, they weren't. She could feel every tear, every rip, and she couldn't even look away. Even when the innocent human beings were screaming for her, she had to watch as they all bled to death. The worst part of it all, the Zygons wore those skins, fusing with them in order to appear human. This was their new metamorphosis; they stole the skin and discarded the human.

"We're evolving, Alice," Her Zygon father said in his whisper of a voice, appearing behind her and patting her head. "We will become the new and improved human race… and you will bear witness our legacy."

"Yes, Father," Alice replied, fighting back all her emotions. If she dare strike out against a Zygon, she'd be the next one to die. Besides…

"_No, please don't!"_

"_Ahh! Leave him alone!"_

"_Stop the killing!"_

…She relived every horrible moment forcibly through night terrors. The killed screamed in her ear, coughed up blood on her hands, grabbed her clothes in an effort to beg, and howled her name. "Alice, save us!" They cried. Women, men, children; they crowded around her in an effort to find salvation. Blood dripped from their eyes, their mouths, their noses; blood was everywhere and most of their skins were missing. This was the only way to make Alice obey and go through with their plans; the Zygons forced night terrors on her every night as a control mechanism. Yes, Alice had warmth, clothes, and food, but the torture was beyond any human's breaking point. She couldn't run away, either; Zygons were everywhere on Earth, so she was trapped on her very planet. Technology couldn't get her to any other world yet, so she was held prisoner where she was.

When the terrors finally woke her up one night, John was there by her bedside, his brown hair covering only his right eye. It was the strangest style with how it was combed over.

"Oh, John, it's you," Alice said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her body couldn't stop shaking; the tremors were so bad that she couldn't pull the sheets over her body again. "I'm sorry." John placed a gentle hand on her head and gave her a sympathetic look. He lingered for just a moment before beginning to walk away. "John?" He stopped and turned to look at her again. "Will you stay with me?" She asked pleadingly. She didn't want to be alone and having her only friend beside her seemed comforting. John nodded and laid beside her, keeping his arm around her as well. He pulled the sheets over the both of them, warmth embracing them both. Alice put her head on top of his chest, feeling a comfort in the beating of his heart. He kissed the top of her head and moved his mouth in a way to say a phrase. No voice came out, of course, but it felt like he was trying to say something to her; a simple, two word message that only he seemed to know. What was he saying? It didn't matter. He was there beside her.

"Good morning, Miss Mulligan!" The servants came back in the morning to wake Alice. They were so punctual; they woke her up every morning at 8:45. "Time to get ready!" The servants first led John out of the room before turning Alice into a goddess of beauty. She wore a short lavender dress this time with light blue makeup. Then she was escorted downstairs to be filmed and photographed before giving the same speech and seeing all those innocent people get murdered. The night terrors came back every night, haunting her with more gore and more blood than the night before. Her life was on repeat; the same wakeup call, the same morning routine the same stage, and the same terrors. Over and over again; the only change she saw were the dresses she wore and the crowds she saw. The same torture that worsened by day.

"John, please, help me," she cried to him one night; her face red and soaked with salty tears. "Kill me now; I can't do this anymore. I can't take all this blood on my hands." John shook his head, his expression horrified at what she was asking of him. "I'd rather you do it than one of the Zygons. Please, just please kill me." Alice reached into her back pocket and took out a small pocket knife, placing it into his hands. "Please." He unfolded it, starring at it disdainfully. Alice nodded her head. John sighed as he took her arm, rubbing it softly with his free hand. He looked at her as he brought the knife to her arm, again mouthing the two word message. Alice could grab ahold of something after seeing it for the millionth time; he was mouthing "way" and then "up." "Way"… "up"…

"What are you talking about, John?" Alice asked. John mouthed again, this time very slowly. He made sure to make every letter noticeable. "Way…ke… up… wayke up… wake up?" John nodded with a smile as he mouthed it again.

"But I'm awake, John." He shook his head no.

"Alice, what's all this commotion -" The Zygon Father entered the room to find Alice in tears and her friend holding a knife to her arm. "SERVANTS!" Everything happened so quickly. The cheerful servants who wake Alice every morning turned into vicious monsters who dragged John out of the room by his hair, growling and literally spitting fury. Alice tried running after them, screaming his name in utter desperation, but her father held her back, whispering, "this is for your own good," in her ear.

In the blink of an eye, they were in the building where the Zygons take all the humans to be skinned. John was kneeling in the center with all the Zygons surrounding him with Alice beside her father. His hands were tied behind his back as well.

"You finally show your true colors, huh, John?" The father said in a hiss. "My Alice's skin is so sensitive… if that blade dare touch her skin, it would kill her on point!"

"It was my idea, Father!" Alice shouted. "Don't touch him, please!"

"Alice, there's no way that could be true," he responded, his arms tensing like he was about to hit her. He could have, too; he often hit his servants and the humans he slaughtered, but he never did anything to her, no matter how much he may have wanted to deep down. "You will pay for your sins, John." Just as he was about to step forward to hurt him, Alice jumped and clung to John, her entire body shaking like she was having a night terror. If she lost her one friend in the world, who knows what she would be capable of doing.

"If you want to kill John, you'll have to kill me, too," she said in a deep voice, not about to move.

"Step aside, Alice."

"You'll have to kill me too!" Her voice grew much louder than any Zygon could ever belt. The father was out of options and could merely growl under his breath. However, one of the Zygons who wielded a large ax, tried to be daring and went to attack Alice, but her father struck him down before he had the chance.

"Don't touch her without my permission, filthy peasant," he growled. The intent to kill darkened his aura. "Alright, Alice; you can have your friend. But listen carefully, next time, he won't be so lucky." Alice loosened her grip on John, looking him in the eyes as he delicately put his hand on her cheek, trying to make sure she was okay.

"Good thing John's a doctor, isn't he?" One of the Zygons said, noting that he's happy at the face John stayed alive.

"This is goodbye, John," Alice said, many days later. She hasn't seen much of him; after all, her father no longer trusted him. "You need to get out of here. I can't risk you getting killed like you almost were before. I can set you free, and no one will question it." John shook his head as he sat Alice down on her bed. "You have to go; you have to survive. No one survives when they live with Zygons. This place is a prison."

"Alice," He said her name. He could speak? "Alice, can you hear me?" She was certainly caught off guard. "Everything you know in this world is a lie, and I'm not leaving you behind because of it."

"You… can talk?" She barely caught onto what he was saying; he was actually vocalizing for the first time, and with an English accent!

"Of course, I can; you just couldn't hear me," he responded. "Perception blockers; the Zygons didn't want me to interfere with their plans in this world, but I've obviously managed to override that, now haven't I?" He smiled, but Alice was still in shock.

"John, what in the world is going on?" He grabbed her head and kissed her forehead, the way he always did with his companions.

"Oh, and another thing; John Smith is just an alias. I'm the Doctor. Just the Doctor. And you, Alice Mulligan, are in a nightmare."

"You can say that again."

"I mean an actual nightmare. None of this is reality. Not this room, not the people that were killed; nothing. Haven't you also wondered why no one has laid a single finger on you? Why do you think that someone always catches you when you trip, or the father Zygon didn't want you to cut yourself? Well, any decent father wouldn't want that, but you catch my drift."

"Well… why do they do that? Why won't they let me get hurt?"

"Because they don't want you to wake up." There was a sudden banging on the door.

"Alice? You in there?" The father said. The Doctor ran over to the door, pulled out his handy sonic screwdriver from his suit pocket, and zapped it along the door, locking it immediately. "Let me in!"

"Alice, listen to me carefully; I am NEVER going to ask this of you again." He tossed her the pocket knife he had days ago. "I need you to use that knife on yourself. A small cut will do. Use it to wake up!"

"How does a cut help me wake up?"

"Anything that involves pain will wake you up immediately."

"What if I don't wake up, though? What if something happens?"

"Alice, I promise; you will be okay!"

"And if I'm not?" The bangs were getting louder and the Doctor had to lean his body against the door.

"I need you to be brave! Be brave like your mother; be brave like your father. But most importantly, be brave like yourself!"

"Alice, open the goddamn door!" The Zygon banged his entire body against the door, nearly breaking it.

"You can do it, Alice! Be brave! I believe in you; John Smith and the Doctor both believe in you, Alice Mulligan!" Alice let out a loud scream, the tears dripping form her eyes as she unfolded the knife and sliced open the inside of her arm, just as the father burst through the door.

Alice gasped and jumped when she woke up, locked and tied to a stretcher by IV wires. A gas mask even covered a majority of her face, however it was all removed when Alice got through with them. She broke free in such a panic that she even fell off the stretcher, which in turn, proved that she was truly awake.

"Alice!" The Doctor, the REAL Doctor, appeared behind her, smiling as always. "You're finally awake! You really were brave!" He planted another kiss upon her forehead like he did in the dream. He had to have been the real Doctor if he said "you were brave" and kissed her forehead. When she finally stood up, she fearfully took him in her arms, shaking and trembling.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"The Zygons captured us when we were in that alleyway; one took my appearance and kidnapped you. They then brought us here in this white room to keep us occupied. They were, however, quite unusual with you…" He looked down at her, a million questions running through his mind. "They wanted to show you their vision for the future. they wanted to literally steal identities instead of just keeping their victims alive and hidden. I think they were experimenting on you, running some sort of simulation."

"Is it… is it over? Are they gone?"

"Not yet. But have no fear for the Doctor is here!"

"Where are we exactly?"

"Still in Venice. Same time period. You've been unconscious for a while, though." Alice let out a yawn.

"How long?"

"About two weeks."

"T-two weeks! Are you kidding me?"

"Afraid not, love. I've been trying to wake you up for that long, at least."

"Damn."

"Doctor!" A couple Zygons in white lab coats burst through the door, their nostrils flaring. "You've interfered with our plans yet again!" Alice took the Doctor's hand out of fear. She saw the Zygons and remembered all the people who died in her dream.

"I do that a lot, don't I?" He smiled and even laughed. "But on a more serious note, I find myself almost unable to forgive you for using my friend as a guinea pig!"

"We haven't harmed her, Doctor," one of the Zygons said, grinning mischievously. Alice began to twitch, snarling and growling under her breath.

"I beg to differ, you sick bastards," she said, her fingers curling into fists.

"Aw, did the little girl find her courage?" The few Zygons in the room began to cackle in unison, causing Alice to go over the edge. She grabbed a needle filled with anesthesia and threw it into the neck of one of the Zygons. He gasped, unable to breathe, and found himself on the floor, unconscious in seconds. Perhaps the blow even killed him. The laughter fell silent as they all stared in anger at the disturbed adolescent.

"Who's next?" she asked in her hissed voice.

"Alice." The Doctor grabbed her hands so she wouldn't be able to attack again, though obviously this didn't go over well with her.

"Get off me! They TORTURED me; let me at them!" She yelled, trying to pull away her hands, though the grip on her wrists was too strong.

"Violence isn't the answer, Mulligan! I'm sorry I have to bind you but this may be the only way. Just trust me." He turned to look at the Zygons who took hold of their fallen comrade and stared at Alice with a look of hatred, their lips trembling and ready to kill. "Look, we've all taken some blows here. How about the bloodshed ends now? Zygons, you leave in peace."

"Or else what?"

"I may decide to let Alice go." Alice was at the ready, her eyes focused on all of the red aliens. If he let her go at this very millisecond, she would attack like a primitive animal whose only base instinct was to kill. The Zygons looked at the unstable girl and noticed that the Doctor was very subtly letting his grip slide. He wasn't bluffing.

"…Fine, we will leave this time," The lead Zygon said, though he was incredibly reluctant in saying so. "But mark my words, we will come back again very, VERY soon." They left the room, heading back to the ship that they currently call home. The Doctor made sure to see them off, watching them disappear until he could no longer see them.

"You're safe now, Alice," he said, squeezing her hand.

"I've never wanted to kill something so badly in my life," she admitted, her voice numb and somewhat monotone. "I feel like they've ripped me apart."

"Revenge will not bring you peace or settle the score; it only breeds violence." His hand ran along her back as they found their way back to the TARDIS. Alice leaned against one of the railings by the control gear, her mind in another place. The Doctor kept his eye on her as he pressed the buttons of the TARDIS; he noticed how unsettled she seemed. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she stared off to the side. He saw her nightmare when he touched her; he saw how the people died and how traumatizing it was for her. He wasn't actually in there with her; the John Smith was a figment of her imagination, but his voice managed to break through in the end. And yet she, and she alone, imagined that he was in there with her. Alice imagined her own escape all by herself; one could say she overrode the nightmare all on her own without even realizing it. What a curious female.

"Alice, I've been meaning to ask you," he started, walking toward her with his hands in his pockets. "Are you sure about this?"

"Sure about what?"

"Traveling with me. I'm a dangerous man, you know. Anything could happen. Something much worse than today could happen to you and I may not be able to protect you." Alice thought for a moment but managed to smile the tiniest bit.

"I think I'll stick around. It's a risk I'm willing to take." The Doctor smiled and brought her in for a hug, spinning her around a bit. "Where would you go if I said no? Just out of curiosity."

"Not in the hell you called home; that's for sure."

"Nah. I'm pretty sure wherever the TARDIS goes, that's where my home is."


	4. Chapter 4: The Impossible Planet

Of Love & War  
_Chapter Four: The Impossible Planet_

"And here we are!" The Doctor said as he nearly jumped out of the TARDIS, excited for the next journey. He landed in a nice dusting of freshly fallen snow. "The planet Ison! Named after the comet Ison that almost didn't die when it swung by the Sun. Everyone on Earth had their eyes on that comet, because if she had survived, she would have given us the most spectacular show. And who doesn't love a good show?"

"It's beautiful here," Alice replied, stepping out of the TARDIS as well and folding her arms over her chest. She looked around with a wary curiosity, almost fearful of her new surroundings. The landscape was mostly rock with snow and ice that covered thin, leafless trees, but when she glanced up at the sky, a smile crept onto her lips. "Just like in Scotland." The sky lit up with dazzling colors, auroras streaming in every direction. Behind the auroras were twinkling stars, forming new constellations that Alice had never seen before. And like on Earth, one of the arms of the galaxy they were currently in stretched across the background.

"You see that one there? That's the mockingbird constellation. The stars are all clustered by the wings and beak. And that one over there is the Lucia constellation. She was the most beautiful girl in all the land, and everybody was so in love with her. The people would declare their undying and everlasting love to her every day, and she'd play along for a while. But little did her people know, Lucia was in love with an average bloke back home."

"Oh, is that right?"

"It's just a fable, anyway. A little story."

"Interesting. I never thought I'd get to see what constellations looked like in other parts of the universe. Almost forgot that they'd differ from the ones on Earth." Alice brought her head down, an unusual sorrow falling over her face. She still wasn't a hundred percent back to being herself from when the Zygons got to her. "How are we able to breathe, anyway?"

The Doctor's eyes peered to her before answering, his own expression showing signs of worry. Of course he was worried; it's not everyday the average human is tortured for the sake of experimentation. "The atmosphere is similar to Earth; eighty percent nitrogen and twenty percent oxygen. I would never take you to a dangerous planet without proper attire." He had given Alice a winter coat stuffed with down feathers so she wouldn't freeze in this weather. Neither of them needed an oxygen mask. "The fun thing about Ison is that it has no central star. This planet is merely a lone planet with nothing to orbit. Hence why you need that big, fluffy coat. Super cold."

"That's damn near impossible."

"It's the universe, Alice." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close with a smile on his face, his hazel eyes watching the sky. "There are wonders in this entire universe that not even the brightest scientist of the Information Age could ever explain. It's like trying to explain what a three-dimensional object looks like to someone who's only two-dimensional; that, love, is darn near impossible. Embrace all these wonders and unknowns; there are so many yet always so far away."

"Oh yeah?" She gazed up at him. "What about you, Doctor; what's your story? Or is that a wonder I'll always wonder about?"

"I'm a Time Lord."

"From?"

"Gallifrey, in the constellation Kasterborous. Literally means 'they that walk in the shadows.' That's what Gallifrey means, not 'Kasterborous.'"

"Sounds fitting. What's it like on Gallifrey? Is it like Earth?"

"Oh yeah, yeah. There were children, adults, vegetations… plenty of life and different species to go around. Quite frankly, I can still see them all like they're standing right in front of me. The children would always be playing in the fields of red grass; the planet was all so very orange. All the warm colors, really." His face melted into gloom, like he was the one who was tortured. "I guess Earth and Gallifrey are similar in the sense that they're both habitable, and had been at some point. Though Gallifrey is much, much larger than Earth."

"Can you take me there one day?" she smirked. "I'd like to see where you grew up once upon a time."

"I wish I could; it was a truly beautiful place."

"You're talking about Gallifrey like it's in the past tense."

"That's because it is. My people were faced with a great war, 'The Great Time War' it was called. We were attacked by creatures called the Daleks. The longer it went on, the more I couldn't hide from the only option I had. And because of that, it's all gone, all because of me."

"I'm sure that's not the case, mate."

"I can assure you that it was, Alice. I had to kill everyone on Gallifrey that day to save the entire universe. My people and the Daleks. Millions of people dead to save billions."

Alice stared at the ever mourning Doctor rather sternly before responding. "I'm sorry to hear that, mate. More reason to hate war, I guess." In the back of her mind, she saw images, little fragments of memories from her own past, of what war was like in her own home. She remembered a lot of blood, weapons, and fire, and a single question ran through her mind. Is war and violence the same on every planet? Perhaps it means something different to another being. If it were all the same, so would be the consequences. Death, instability, chaos. There was a part of her that remained skeptical to the Doctor's story, however; there was no way that he could never kill, because he was far too gentle.

"Anyway, we have this entire world to see!" And just like that, in a matter of a millisecond, the Doctor had a great big smile on his face as he took Alice's hand. "Come on, there's a lot to take in and much to do here!"

"Are you my very own tour guide?" she asked, cracking her own smile.

"That's what I promised, yes? Now come along, Mulligan. No flash photography, video, or hologram, thank you very much. Anyway, onward we go!" They ran off into the distance with the white snow crunching under their feet. As they exhaled, visible puffs escaped their lips.

This world echoed only silence, one that is similar to winter. When winter strikes, peace follows in sound, absorbing all vibrations so that nothing is heard. This world, with the ice and snow that blanketed its ground and the peaceful silence that came along, was like a never-ending winter. It was beautiful, with running rivers over sheets of ice, tall trees covered in a gentle layer of snow, and a particular bewitching essence in the air. There was something about this place that enchanted them. All they wanted to do was just sit back, explore, and watch the stars, to take a couple moments to just take in all of what this planet had to offer.

The Doctor and his companion wandered inside a forest. Without a central star, this planet held no light of its own, so as they entered, they were greeted by none other than darkness. Outside the forest, there had been light posts to light the way, but once they were consumed by the trees, light could no longer protect them nor guide them.

"Alice, stay right beside me," he said as he squeezed her hand. Without any gloves, their hands were chilled by the fearsome wind.

"Doctor?" Alice said his name as she tried to peer at her surroundings. The darkness didn't help, but her eyes quickly adjusted. There was something out there in the distance, some sort of rhythm, but she couldn't seem to place where it was coming from. Left? Right? Above? There wasn't a correct answer.

"What is it?"

She hesitated before shaking her head, not that he could see. "Nothing, never mind." The rhythm didn't go away, either; it remained in her mind like a stamp. The rhythm eventually produced a sound, an instrument that sang it. Or was it multiple instruments? It wasn't easy to tell; the sound combined the power of a brass instrument, like a French Horn, with the light, brisk sound of a string instrument, like a violin. It called to her, like it was holding out an awaiting hand, yearning to grab hers. What could it mean? Behind the rhythm, she could almost hear a voice call her name as if she were a message.

They wandered for quite some time, unsure of where anything was or where they were going. The ground was soft, and what felt like branches brushed against their skins, nearly cutting them. But from out of nowhere, a tiny gold sparkle flew around them, the only glimmer of light they've seen for a good half hour.

"What's this?" Alice asked as the sparkle pressed against her nose. Her eyes had to cross in order to even see this thing. But ever fleeting, it spun around her in a whirling dance, only to do the same to the Doctor. In the end, it flew away, leaving the friends to wonder about its existence. They exchanged glances of confusion but a moment later, a pathway, illuminated by fireflies, opened up in front of them.

"I think it wants us to follow it," he replied, his hand reaching for the sonic in his suit pocket.

"Adventure time it is." They began to walk said path, Alice's hands in her pockets and her eyes forward.

"What do you mean, music is about emotion?!" A grizzly, deep voice hissed from the left of the two travelers, immediately catching Alice's particular attention.

"Music is about expression and should force you to become original! It's not all about work!" argued another voice; this one was higher, but not by much.

"You're a fool! Your ignorance is preposterous, and you call yourself a classical composer!" Alice and the Doctor settled into some bushes, their eyes peering over the leaves. In the distance were two men in similarly dressed outfits from the seventeen-hundreds, though one looked significantly older than the other.

"Blimey, we've got a problem," The Doctor said under his breath, running his hand over his face. "It's not everyday you see Johann Sebastian Bach argue with Franz Joseph Haydn."

Alice's eyes went wide upon hearing those two famous names. "J-Johann Sebastian Bach? THE J.S. Bach from the Baroque era?" The Doctor nodded. "A-and THE Franz Joseph Haydn from the Classical era?" He nodded again. Alice looked like she was having a heart attack. She slapped her hands over her mouth to stifle the squeals she was about to make. "What are they doing here? And they're arguing?!" she asked in a hushed whisper, her heart beating fast.

"I have no idea; they shouldn't be here. They're supposed to have been long gone."

"Can we go talk to them? Please?"

"No! We have no idea of the circumstances." Alice gave him a very unhappy look; her face was saying, "oh, come on!" but he still shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"We won't find out anything if we just sit here watching them."

"You'd be surprised."

"I'm gonna go talk to them." Alice got up and nearly fell down the hill. They had been on a high surface, much against their knowledge. From their perspective, the two composers appeared to be about ten meters away, when in actuality, they were down a slope. This newfound perspective wasn't there a second ago, and neither of them noticed.

"Alice, you idiot-!" The Doctor shook his fist at her for a brief moment before sighing and running after her.

"Uhm, excuse me, gentlemen?" she said with a grand old smile when she confronted the two.

"To what do we owe your acquaintance, Miss?" said the blond, higher voiced man. He had wrinkles in his cheeks and his clothes seemed somewhat newer. This man was Haydn.

"This conversation is private!" hissed the other man. His clothes were older and a white, powdered wig hugged his head. This one was Bach.

"I'm sorry; I just overheard you two discussing music," she replied, unable to refrain from smiling. "Can I help in any way?"

"Are you a musician?" asked Haydn.

"Yes, I'm a flautist. My name is Alice, by the way. Alice Mulligan."

"All right, Miss Mulligan. Tell me, in your experience, have you ever thought music was for the purpose of expression or for work?" It was one of the biggest questions debated in the history of Western philosophy, and still, it's being debated in recent times.

"Well, I've always been taught that music is for you; it's about expressing what it's in your soul and showing that to other people."

"See, Bach? Alice knows what's she's talking about!"

"But on the other hand, it also serves as work. It has rules that need to be followed when playing or composing in a particular style. It depends on the setting, too, because kings and churches will always need more music for their events and masses."

"What was that, Haydn?" Bach couldn't resist giving him a smug smirk with a twitch of the eye that almost looked like a wink.

"She still thinks that expression matters; she said that first!"

"Music is made for a purpose, an event! It does not solely ride on something so tremendously infantile as expression!" The two historical composers went back to their bickering as the Doctor pulled Alice away from the scene.

"I just talked to Bach and Haydn," she said, unable to resist grinning from ear to ear. "I just talked to Bach and Haydn! A couple of the most well-known composers in the HISTORY of Western music! I need an inhaler, and I don't even have asthma."

"You're just lucky that nothing weird happened." The Doctor sighed as the two began their journey again on the firefly path. "Aren't you going to ask the big questions? How Bach and Haydn are alive and next to each other - and arguing about their music styles? How they're even here?"

"Oh yeah, how is that possible?" Alice didn't even let herself wonder that; she was so in awe at their existence that she never even thought why.

"There must be a time rift nearby. You know, a weakness in space and time that can allow someone or something to pass through, but I'm sure you would already know about that; it's old news."

"You could call it a wibbly wobbly timey wimey thing," a new male voice said, causing both the Doctor and Alice to halt. The Doctor seemed most surprised, the expression of confusion and a tiny bit of anger erupted on his face. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey" was one of his old past lives' catchphrases. Who would dare use that? No, who dares to know it? They both turned around to see an eighteen year old boy just standing behind them about five meters away with his hands in his pockets. "Good to see you again, Doctor," He said with a half grin.

"Wibbly wobbly-? What?" The Doctor responded, taking a decent look at this boy. He'd never seen him before in his life, and he'd never forget a face. "How do you know that?"

"Oh, that's right; you haven't met me yet," the boy said, putting his fist into the palm of his hand. The bangs of dark hair stood up straight in the air with some sort of gel holding it up. His lips curled into an entire smile as he grabbed the zipper of his jacket. A nervous habit. "Is that one of your companions?"

"That's not your business; who are you?" he replied, standing in front of Alice in a protective manner.

"You'll know me very well soon," the boy said with a laugh. "I'm a future companion myself, and my name is Josh."

"I'm Alice!" she said in a cheerful voice, hopping to the right of the Doctor so that Josh could actually see her. One could not tell from the dim lighting that her face had gone red. Josh glanced over to her, his expression completely melting into something of awe. What was that look on his face? It wasn't fear; it was kind of like surprise, like he just saw someone for the first time in years. He made his way over to her somewhat slowly. He didn't tower over her the way the Doctor did; Josh was only about five-foot-seven, and Alice was four inches shorter than that. They could almost look each other in the eyes. As he struggled to find the first words to say to her, he looked like he was restraining himself; his hands were twitching, and not from the cold. But why would they be? From Alice's perspective, she just saw a boy her age that didn't speak for a solid minute.

"It's nice to meet you, Alice," he said, his voice running with a dab of maturity. He took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Nice to meet you, too, Josh," she replied, unable to suppress a smile as he took her hand and gave it a small kiss. This world certainly brought happiness to those who least expect it.

"I like your coat; it's quite… fluffy." He didn't let her hand go; instead, his fingers were loosely wrapped around hers.

"Thank you; it's quite warm, too."

"All right, all right, enough with the introductions!" The Doctor said, breaking the two apart and standing in front of Alice like a protective father. "Enough with the flirting!"

"I was just being polite."

"You know, you remind me of certain Captain I used to know."

"Well, he did teach me everything I needed to know about women."

"What?!"

"I'm just kidding; I have no idea who you're talking about."

The Doctor sighed heavily when Josh smirked, not particularly enjoying the presence of this boy. Alice on the other hand, couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Okay, Josh, if that's your real name, who really are you? And don't say something like 'spoilers!' because we already have someone on that!"

"Would that someone happen to have curly, blondish brown hair, blue eyes, and oh yeah, be your wife?"

"Doctor, you're married?!"

"Spoilers." Josh winked at Alice.

"How do you know about that?"

"I told you; I'm a future companion. Why wouldn't I know about her?"

"That's private." The Doctor furrowed his forehead at Josh, becoming more annoyed with the boy. "Who are you? I want details."

"Well for starters, I'm human, not some crazy alien from another galaxy." He didn't mean it, but the way Josh said 'not some crazy alien' was a bit of a dig at the Doctor. "I'm from New York City, the original one on Earth. And I'm from the year 3000."

"You're from the city?" Alice asked. "I've always wanted to see it."

"It's beautiful, really, especially the way the skyscrapers light up the sky. The Empire State Building still glows in different colors and has been for over a thousand years. I could show you some time if you'd like."

"I'd love to."

The Doctor felt like he was intruding on a private moment amongst the two. It felt strange, but there was nothing he could do to stop them. He began to snap his fingers, grabbing their attentions. "Oi, love birds; back to reality," he said. "Josh, what are you doing here?"

"I'm studying, actually. To us back home, this is the Impossible Planet. It's literally not meant to exist. And we want to know why it does."

"You mean to say you're a scientist?" Alice asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Amateur, at best. I'll be a proper geologist when I finish my studies."

"We'll let you get back to studying then." The Doctor bowed slightly as he smirked, turning around on his heels to leave, but alas was stopped.

"Could I come along?" Josh asked, stepping forward a couple steps. "I won't get in the way."

"No," said the Doctor.

"Yes," said Alice. The two of them spoke at the same time, causing them to instantly look at each other in surprise.

"Why can't he come with us?"

"Well for one, he's an agitator! And two, he should finish his studies."

"What's better than first-hand experience?"

"I can help, you know. I've been trying to figure out if there's something in the earth that causes it to, well, exist, because it really shouldn't be here at all," Josh said.

"It's not just the planet," The Doctor rebutted, his hands pressing against his hips.

"We've got someone on time and space science as well. You can call him an expert."

"'We'?"

"Just the two other people I travel with, Doctor."

"Ah, you can continue to travel with them, then."

"Doctor, please. We could probably use a geologist," Alice said, almost pleading. "It doesn't hurt to have an extra brain amongst us."

"Since when are you the trusting type?"

"I'm not; I just believe in chances." The Doctor looked at Alice's unmoving face before glancing over at Josh one last time. The boy was wearing just a jacket in below freezing temperatures, no gloves, no scarf, no hat. He had the attitude of a couple of past friends. Ultimately, he was a fool. But then the Doctor sensed that they were at the beginnings of a crossroad in time; two different outcomes were placed in front of him at this moment that could, in fact, alter their futures. He sighed as he thought to himself, '_I hope I'm turning left._'

"Alright. Come along, Josh. Wait, what was your full name, by the way?"

"Joshua Blythe."

"Yes, fantastic. Come along, Blythe. There's much to do here." The Doctor clapped his hands together before pointing in front of him, desiring to move forward. "Josh, have you perhaps run into any sort of civilisation here? A city or a village? I've never actually been here before; I've been aching to see what's going on, though. You'd be surprised at the stories one hears about this place."

"Actually, if we stay on this path, we will find the city of New Mountain. I was on my way there when I saw you two."

"How convenient for all of us."

The three individuals continued to walk along the path. It seemed endless, the trail of fireflies never ceasing. It also didn't help that no one spoke a word; the walk must have felt longer than it actually was. But when they did meet the end of the trail, they had left the forest behind completely. They were staring at rolling mountains, some with peaks that poked the sky. Below them were indeed villages and cities, civilizations that made their lives in the valleys of the mountains. There were small homes and regular buildings, and then there were skyscrapers that rivaled the size of one of the smaller mountains. There must have been over a billion people just scrunched into such a tiny space.

"Is it just me… or is it fiercely hot?" Alice said as she began to unzip her heavy coat. Sweat began to form on the pores of her skin.

"That can't be right," The Doctor muttered as he too felt the heat of the sun when there was no sun here. No outside source could be insulating this world right now.

"Nothing makes sense here," Josh said. "The closer you get to New Mountain, the more it feels like Spring and less like Summer. And no one seems to know why."

"Let's see it then," said Alice as she began to make her way toward the edge of the cliff they were all on.

"Wait, let's not be hasty."

"Alice, not hasty? You clearly haven't met her before." The Doctor received a swift punch in the arm from her after that comment. "Oi, what was that for?"

Alice just chuckled in response, not even bothering to glance in his direction. "Do we really need to make a plan to enter a city? What is there, high security?"

"It's not that. Everyone in these civilizations has been brought together by some sort of time malfunction-"

"Must be a time rift; I knew it!" interjected the Doctor.

"Yes, a time rift. So, everyone in there has already lived out their lives, at least relative to our perspective. They're all supposed to be dead."

"The plot thickens," The Doctor and Alice said simultaneously.

"Oh, so that's probably why we saw Bach and Haydn back there."

"…who?"

The look on Alice's face changed into a mixture of surprise and a bit of disgust. "J.S. Bach and Franz Joseph Haydn? A couple of the greatest composers of all time?"

"I don't know anything about music, sorry."

"You poor damn fool." Alice shook her head in disappointment, saddened by Josh's musical ignorance. "I have things to teach you. But anyway, back on point. Were those people down there stolen from their respective time periods and just put here?"

"I don't think they even know that they're in the wrong place or time."

"Then that's our job to find out."


	5. Chapter 5: Mad World

Of Love & War  
_Chapter Five: Mad World_

"New Mountain is divided amongst the people and their importance to time," Josh explained, drawing a map on a pad of paper that he was carrying. Alice and the Doctor were on both sides of him. "The sectors that divide them are called Divisions. We have those who belong to political history, like Abraham Lincoln, Margaret Thatcher, and Harriet Jones. There are musicians and composers like Elvis Presley and Valdi-"

"Vivaldi, love," Alice interjected, winking at him. Josh chuckled slightly in response.

"Excuse me, Vivaldi," he continued. "There are those of space, like Neil Armstrong… You catch my drift. There are countless amounts of Divisions, and they all just appear out of nowhere."

"How are we supposed to return all those people to their rightful place on Earth?"

"There are Divisions that have aliens, too. And everything about their existences that makes them fantastic."

"…Is the TARDIS big enough for all of them, Doctor?"

"Of course she is," The Doctor said, giving her an "are you kidding me?" expression. "Honestly, love, are you sure you've even been in the TARDIS before?"

"But more importantly, how do you plan on convincing even a dozen people to go into that space ship? They all think that this is their home; they don't know this is wrong," Josh proposed. Both of the boys had their eyes on her. She wasn't too sure who to speak to, so she just turned her head back and forth at them.

"Someone's bound to believe me, right?"

"Better luck next time."

"Then what should we do?"

"We're definitely going in there. I think as long as they stay ignorant of the situation, then the easier we can figure out this world's secrets."

"Does this mean we need disguises?"

"No need. As long as we keep to ourselves, we won't have to reveal our identities. I mean, no one's gonna come up to you and demand to see your ID; if you've made it here, then that means you were important to the universe. And even if we do need some sort of disguise, then we'll think of something right there."

Alice looked to the Doctor as if she needed an "okay" from him, some reassurance. "What do you think, Doctor?" she asked.

"I actually agree with Josh for once," he replied, Josh smiling in response. "We need to figure out where this is coming from. Perhaps we should split up, cover more ground."

"Split up-?" Alice was taken aback, offended at his words. "No, we should stick together in case danger shows up."

"Okay, then." The Doctor held his hands behind his back. "Josh, you go with Alice and explore the Divisions. I'll stay behind and see what I can find."

"If you're going to sample some soil, you should have Josh do it. That's his field. He can stay here, and we can go into town."

"Believe me, this is out of his field." Josh gave him a quick questionable look, a mixture of confusion and a glare.

"Oh yeah, because you know better than what he's studying." Her temper was beginning to heat up, along with her sarcasm.

"What if I told you I did?"

"I wouldn't believe you."

"I'm a doctor, you know. THE Doctor."

"Let me guess, you're a doctor of everything; you know everything that goes on in this universe!"

"I wouldn't say everything, but mostly everything. Very nearly almost everything."

Her eyes squinted and twitched as an inaudible growl escaped her lips. "Your arrogance is to be admired."

"Yeah? We're still splitting up."

"No, we're not." She crossed her arms over her chest as the Doctor raised an eyebrow. She was challenging him; how intriguing.

"Why not? I'm a grown man, and you're a grown woman. Josh, he's, well, he's Josh."

"I'm right here, Doctor," Josh responded, rolling his eyes a bit.

"Yes, hello there, Josh." The Doctor ruffled the male adolescent's hair with a grin on his face; this was all so amusing to him. "You guys go check out the Divisions and meet back here when you're done or found something. Do you think I'm going to abandon you?"

"We're a team, you and me. Let's not separate if we can avoid it."

"Alice." He kissed her forehead as he put his hands on her shoulders, staring deep into her pupils. "This is part of being a team; more or less, it's a part of being with me. We even got an 'extra brain' with us, as you said. Just trust me on this one."

"I'll take care of her," Josh said as he took her hand, tugging it a little bit. "Come on, let's go."

"Wait, I-" She looked at the Doctor almost terrified, but he waved to them, his facial expression trying to give Alice some reassurance. He was smiling and looking bright. Alice sighed in defeat, muttering, "fine, let's go" under her breath as she and Josh went down the spiraling path into town. This was the first time they were willingly separating since they met. The idea was pretty scary; even in her dreams, the Doctor was almost never out of her sight.

"There's no need to worry, Alice. He'll be okay," Josh said, squeezing her hand. Out of annoyance, she drew her hand back. "He IS the Doctor, after all."

"He's up to something; I can sense it," she responded, staring into the distance. "He wouldn't just leave me with anyone so easily."

"Good thing I'm a future companion, right?" He chuckled a little, trying to diffuse the tension they were entrapped in. Unfortunately, it was a cry on deaf ears.

"We haven't met you yet, though, so you're still just a stranger to us."

"Nice going, Josh…" he muttered to himself with a sigh.

"Wait, why are we going into town in the first place?" She stopped walking as she furrowed her forehead. "Did that bastard just trick me into going-?"

"Recon. See what's going on amongst the people. And if there are any clues to this planet. I'm pretty sure the Divisions have some sort of soil for me to dig into."

"You already seem to know what's happening." She glanced in his direction, her eyes lowered in an angry glare. "Why do you know? Have you been here before?"

"Perhaps it's just a lucky guess?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a good guesser."

"No one's that lucky. What are you not telling me?"

"It's nothing. Er, I mean - _nothing_. I'm not… _not_… telling you… anything?" Josh was getting flustered; he had no idea what he was saying anymore.

"Josh, spit it out already."

"Spit what out? I don't know what you're talking about." His eyes darted around, trying not to look her in the eyes.

"You know what I mean."

"Heh, well, there's a lot of that in the future." Josh grinned as he mouthed "spoilers." If looks could kill, he'd be annihilated; Alice would have made every atom of his existence disappear with that one glance. Her hair stood up straight in a comical way; her eyes went wide as she flared her nostrils like she smelled something awful; her face turned bright red like a tomato as her heart began to beat fast, and every muscle in her body stiffened. "Did I say too much?"

She blinked many times before responding. "…Not on your life, mate," she said rather calmly as she started to walk back up the hill, back to the Doctor.

"W-wait, I'm sorry; come back!" He stood in front of her to hinder her escape. "I was trying to be funny. That's all." Alice didn't respond; she merely stepped around him. "We've got a job to do!"

"What's the point if you know what's going on?"

"I-I don't; I promise. My other friends just gave me what information they already had."

"Oh yeah?" She turned around on her heels. "Where are these friends of yours, anyway?"

"They have their own missions to do."

"How convenient."

"Can we please just go to New Mountain? We can even visit those music people first if you'd like; you can teach me what you know."

She took a moment to wonder, her eyes wandering the distance. "Wait. If you're from the future, you already know what happens."

"Haven't we established that?" His sarcasm was met by her glare. "Well, in theory, I do."

"Well then, what happens we go into those Divisions?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions."

"I wouldn't be if you'd just answer."

"I really can't say. Don't want to create any… timey wimey malfunctions."

"You're here right now. No paradox."

"This was a fixed point in time. This is how you've always met me, and it will always be like this. As long as no one decides to screw up before hand."

Alice sighed in defeat, but dared not to look at him out of anger. "Fine. Let's go."

Josh relaxed, his shoulders lowering and his lips smiling a bit. "Thank you."

They walked in an awkward, tense silence for about a half hour, the weather around them cooling to a bearable degree. It really was beginning to feel like Spring time. The sky above them remained static and still glowed with auroras and the background stars. A brilliant beam of yellow light even flashed across the heavens, a falling star. They both stared upward, though they didn't realize they were in tandem. Both of them made secret wishes in their minds, like every child does when they see a falling star.

"We used to get skies like this all the time back home," Alice said, breaking the quiet between them. They had both entered a field of swaying grass, only about half a kilometer away from the Music Division. The grass was long and a bright green, curled over from years of gentle wind passing way.

"I've never really looked at the sky," Josh admitted. "The city is a bit too bright for stargazing."

"That's a pity. Everyone needs to stop and stare at the universe sometimes."

"I know." The two chuckled to themselves.

"…I'm sorry, Josh." she finally said. "I may have a temper."

"It's alright. You're definitely Irish." She looked at him with a softer expression, somewhat surprised at his easygoing reaction. He smiled at her; grinned ear to ear.

"And you're quite… friendly. That's what I've heard about Americans, anyway."

"We're quite something; I'll give you that."

"_Alice."_ The sound of instruments whispered her name suddenly, causing her to stop walking. _"Alice!"_ With every calling of her name, the instruments became louder until they were screaming in her ears. They were right behind her, so suffocatingly close that she had to turn around, but there was nothing but fields of grass for miles. _"ALICE. ALICE!_"

"You all right?" Josh asked, poking her in the arm.

"W-what? Oh, uhm…" She quickly checked the surroundings around her, twisting in every direction so that nothing escaped her line of sight. No one was here except for her, Josh, and a bunch of grass. Not even an ant crawled on the ground. "Do you hear something, by any chance?"

"No, why? Do you?" She checked one last time, just to be sure. What was that? It sent shivers down her spine. She could almost feel something touch her very skin.

"…it's nothing. Thought I heard some… rats."

"Ah, rats. Old friends to the subways."

"Are they really? In there?"

"Some the size of a full grown cat."

"That's gross!"

"It's sad, really. They're friendly rats, I promise." The two shared a laugh, some of the awkwardness finally evanescing. The instrument, or instruments, that called to her vanished from her mind as well. They continued to walk along the field, creating some talk to speed things along. And speed it along, it did. Before they knew it, they were in front of the gates of the Music Division that separated it from the rest of the city. The entrance was deserted as well; no gatekeeper or guard in sight. The two of them pushed the gate open, making a loud creaking noise. Still, no one came running up to them, demanding to see some identification or question what their purpose is here. As they walked inside the Music Division, their first thought was 'how empty.' They were trapped in between miles of skyscrapers and buildings without seeing a single new soul. They were all alone here, at least from the outside.

"Hello?" Josh said, only to hear an echo. "…No one's here."

"That's weird." Alice looked and approached a couple buildings, stroking the structures of wood and plaster. An unhealthy amount of dust covered her fingertips after just one touch. How peculiar. "Are you sure there are people here?"

"I was." He kneeled to the ground, grabbing a handful of dirt and bringing it to his face to examine it more closely. There was nothing unusual about it, even to Josh's expert eyes. It was just healthy, normal dirt.

"For a music division, there sure is a lack of music." Alice glanced to Josh, raising an eyebrow. "Is this a trap?"

"Yes, I've separated you from the Doctor on purpose." He crept over to her and gave her a big hug from behind. He was clearly joking. "I've got you now, my pretty."

"Easy there, boy; save some of that spunk for later." Alice winked at him.

"Oh, so there will be a later?" He spun her around so he could look her in the face, unable to resist grinning.

"That is _not_ what I meant!" She may have been smirking, but she took his hands off of her waist and returned them to him. "You're quite handsy, you know that?"

"Ah, that's right," he said as he took a step back. "you're not there yet."

"Not there?" She raised an eyebrow curiously, expecting an answer but he had already begun to wander off.

They both began to walk deeper into the heart of the Division. There had to be signs of life somewhere; they just had to keep looking for it.

"I'm gonna go to the Market area! Fresh water, comin' right up!" A cheerful female's voice sounded from Alice and Josh's left. There was a woman, possibly around eighteen years, carrying a woven basket in one of her arms Her short brown hair had a tendency to fall in front of her glasses as she closed the door behind her and walked in front of the walkers.

"Excuse m-" Josh started before stopping himself. The new female looked in their direction, her eyes suddenly widening when set on the male.

"Josh?!"

"Erika?!" The two of them then ran to one another, instantly hugging and laughing. He even picked her up and swung her around a few times.

"Good to see you're alive!" he said.

"Right back at you!" she replied.

"Have you gotten any info on this place?"

"Well…" She clicked her tongue once and shrugged. "I mean, I guess so. Nicole's upstairs with our guest of honor. I got to get us some more water."

"Ah well, let _us_ join you." Noticing the emphasis on "us," Erika looked over Josh's shoulders and immediately let him go. She seemed a bit serious and almost tense for some reason.

"You found her?" she whispered; Josh responded with a nod. Rather slowly, she made her way over to Alice, who stared at Erika with wary. Erika was taller than her by a few inches and her light eyes were somewhat sparkly. Perhaps it was the dim light on her face. She held no darkness in the way she presented herself; if anything, she seemed devious; it was that twinkle in her eyes that said it all.

"You're Alice, aren't you?" she said with a thick Scottish accent. "Josh's extra special friend." She crossed her arms over her chest as a grin crossed her lips.

"I don't know if I'd say 'extra special' or even 'friend,' but I am definitely Alice," she replied, feeling rather awkward and a bit confused, though her sassy remarks made Erika laugh a bit.

"I'd recognise those eyes anywhere; always lookin' up at the sky like you want to travel in space. Cute little Scottish girl, oh, I'm sorry - _Irish_ girl." There was something so familiar about her. Erika's voice, her speech, even her glasses; they all felt so nostalgic. But why would she know? Alice's face furrowed as she tried thinking of every person she'd ever met, which was surprisingly not a long list. "What a dreamer. Always had her head in the clouds… or in sheet music, playing her little flute sonatas or her duets. Always needed her violinist best friend for those pieces!"

"…Do I know you?" It was on the tip of her tongue; she definitely knew who this person was. But why wasn't the name coming to mind? "You seem so familiar. I mean, clearly you know who I am."

"Oh, please, Alice, you're not THIS dense, are you? I'll give you a hint… my initials are E.D.B."

It took her a moment, but the realization hit her like a baseball bat. "…E…Erika?" She nodded. "Dorothy? BRIGTON?" The missing puzzle pieces were found and connected; it all made sense. Erika Dorothy Brigton; Alice's childhood best friend from Scotland. She was standing right there in front of her for the first time in seven years. "Oh my god; I didn't even recognise you!"

"Alice Rosalyn Mulligan, where have you been all these years?!" The two of them embraced in a bear hug, nearly breaking out into tears. It had been so long, but the two never forgot one another.

"Where have YOU been?!"

"In Scotland!"

"Same here!"

"Obviously not now!"

"Right back at you!" They were in hysterics, not knowing whether to keep hugging and crying or let go and let each other breathe. They kept hugging and tearing up, of course.

"Erhem." Josh coughed, grabbing the reunited friends' attentions. "I'd love to stand here and reminisce, but we have things to figure out."

"Right," said Erika, finally breaking the hug. "but first, there's water that needs to be collected."

The three companions were headed toward the entrance of the Division where food and water were stored in the first few buildings. The buildings on the way there looked like they had seen better days; they were decaying and rotting. Erika led them into a slightly less disgusting building and down into the cellar. It was dark with little lighting until Erika lit a small latern. In the center of the cellar was a water faucet, one that was only used in the seventeen-hundreds. Extremely old fashioned. Surrounding them were loads of dried food and flavored drinks in wooden cartridges.

"So… you seem to be down a person," Erika suddenly said as she filled the empty bottles from her basket. She had about ten of them hidden away, and they were about a liter each.

Alice checked behind her. "No, Josh is here. We're all here."

"Come on, you don't have to hide it from me; I know you were travelling with the Doctor." Erika smiled, but Alice seemed dumbfounded.

"How do you know about the Doctor?"

"I used to travel with him. Josh will eventually travel with this one. My Doctor had a different face, though; if you can imagine that."

"You traveled with him?"

"Of course!"

"Different face…?"

"Oh yeah! He had dark eyes, really great hair, and less of a chin." Erika put her hand on chin and motioned it downward as if it grew.

"…He does have quite a chin, doesn't he?" Alice laughed.

"Honestly, he could poke somebody's eye out with that thing!" This time, Josh joined in the giggles.

"Anyway!" Alice interjected, still smiling. "What do you mean, a different face? I mean, you can't just change faces. Did he have plastic surgery?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." Erika snorted, placing the last filled water bottle in her basket. "But in all seriousness, I hope you don't ever understand what I just said. It… it really sucks."

"O…kay?" For a quick moment, Alice tried to imagine the Doctor with another face. Less of a chin, dark eyes… it didn't seem right. She decided to keep the idea of switching faces in the back of her mind; she'd ask the Doctor later. Erika was probably just joking.

"Anyway! Wait until we get back and see Nicole. We have the coolest guest in our building!" She nearly dragged the two back outside, still holding their wrists to guide them back to her building. They began to chat, mostly about nonsense and what's happened in seven years. They weren't paying attention to their surroundings.

Suddenly, a metallic voice that snarled and hissed appeared from their left sides atop one of the smaller buildings. "EXTERMINATE!" It shouted. "EXTERMINATE!"

"Get down!" Speaking of the Devil, The Doctor himself entered the picture as he tackled the teenagers to the ground. A light blue laser zapped right behind them; it would've have killed at least Josh if it had landed.

"THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN LOCATED." More metallic voices joined in, and new bodies were finally sighted. They were metallic, pepper shaker-like robots with a whisk and a plunger as arms. On their heads were white lights as ears and a centered blue eyestalk. Their bottom halves were evenly covered with round bumps.

"What the hell…?" The teenagers all said together, trying to look at their newfound antagonists.

"Daleks. No time to explain. Just run!" The Doctor hurried them; forcing them on their feet but keeping his eyes on the Daleks that drew closer with every second. They had no other choice but to run in the other direction without the Doctor following them. Danger was right behind them, drawing closer. They turned a sharp corner, the three adolescents, only to find that another danger stared them in the face.

"What are these statues doing here?" Alice asked, beginning to turn her head toward Erika.

"DON'T!" she yelped, causing Josh and Alice to jump. "Don't take your eyes off them!"

Alice returned to staring at the statues; their faces were in their hands like they were _weeping_, and they had wings on their backs like _angels_ do."They're kind of creepy looking, Erika."

"That's how they get you, though. If you look away, they come closer. If you dare even blink, they will come closer."

"Stop blinking, whoever!" The statues were still creeping closer, even though all three of the adolescents were staring at all three of the statues. With every blink, they changed positions and inched closer. With one last blink from an unknown individual, three arms grabbed the teens' legs from underneath, averting their attentions again, allowing the statues to appear in front of them, jaws and teeth agape in a hissing fashion. Their arms were raised over the humans like they were about to strike them. All three of the humans began to scream bloody murder, but managed to never look away.

"DOCTOR!" was all Alice could manage in a final call.


	6. Chapter 6: Torture

**This chapter is rated M for a bit of blood and violence (kind of a Torchwood feel, I believe!). Read at your own risk.**

**And if I haven't said it yet, thanks for the support, guys :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Of Love & War  
_Chapter Six: Torture_

Grey fingers were mere centimeters from their faces; the gang, in that very moment, froze in fear. What could they do other than stare at these now hissing statues in their pupil-less eyes without even blinking?

"Oh God, this is how it ends," said Erika. All of the friends' eyes were wide as saucers. "There's so much left I haven't done - I still want to go to University!"

"I never went to Japan," admitted Josh, his eyes dropping down to the feet of the Angel he stared at for a brief moment. His voice drifted off like he was sincerely saddened.

"I haven't even kissed anyone yet," Alice said, biting her bottom lip. She was under the impression that they were all confessing at least one thing that they regretted not doing before this very moment. For all they knew, this was it.

"We can easily change that," Josh said, trying to smile and be slightly humorous (yet at the same time, serious), but instead, his voice came off somewhat monotone.

"Shut it, Josh!" The girls said in unison. Josh merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I haven't seen an opera yet," he blurted out.

"Really-? Oh, we have places to go."

"Is that a date?"

"JOSH, FOCUS!" Erika yelled, the corner of her eye twitching and her lips tightening. "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU WILL GO BACK TO HER IN A FEW DAYS! KEEP IT IN YOUR GODDAMN PANTS!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to solidify plans!"

"In the face of danger…?" Alice said, confused yet slightly irritated.

"I like to live on the edge."

"Okay, but speaking of plans, listen up. On the count of three, everybody slowly walk backward. They won't follow us as long as we don't blink or look away," Erika said. From the start, all three companions had their hands in the air like they were being arrested, though they weren't too sure why they were doing this.

"Shit, not blinking really hurts," Josh said, squinting his eyes and trying not to blink. It proved to be incredibly difficult, and they had finally got their blinking under control.

"Resist." Erika and Alice agreed with Josh mentally, however; not blinking for several minutes felt like decades. Their eyes felt like they were beginning to burn.

"One, two, three! Walk!" Maintaining eye contact, the gang slowly backed away from the three Angels. Lucky enough for them, it looked like the Angels weren't following them, either.

"We got this, guys!" said Erika. "Just a little further - AH!" She had bumped into what felt like a large wall, with what felt like a fabric running over it. Suddenly, a bag went over her head, cutting off her vision and scream. The same happened for Alice; she had backed into a man - she deduced this from the skin that brushed against her that was not her own and the muscular pecs that her head fell onto. This man put his hand over her mouth to silence her own cries.

"Amenez-les au Seigneur," The one holding Alice said to his partner with a low and heavy bass voice. The man was speaking French, much to Alice's knowledge, and knew he said, "Bring them to the Lord." His partner nodded his head and disappeared without leaving a trace or a sound behind. A moment later, he came back and apprehended Josh who had remained frozen in place from shock and not wanting to break eye contact with the Angels. These unknown men who towered over their prey had decided to humiliate them a little further by placing handcuffs on them, keeping their hands behind their back. Alice had begun to struggle, not wanting to be kidnapped and never seen from again, so she bit her predator's hand. She bit so hard; her especially sharp incisors tearing his skin open, blood dripping from it in large drops. He released her, but only by throwing her against the wall, the side of her head hitting hard against the concrete. Lucky enough for her, she wasn't about to black out. She slid to the floor, shaking and trying to focus her vision.

"Alice!" Josh nearly looked away, but she immediately barked back.

"Don't look away!" Though her words and her voice were strong, all strength suddenly evaporated from her when she noticed the trail of blood running down from her temple and the metallic taste that lined her teeth. Memories resurfaced from her last adventure; she saw the blood of all the people who died from experimentation, and now, she was once again covered in all that blood. She could no longer move; she was trapped against this wall, paralyzed, begging for forgiveness from people who were never truly experimented on.

Her capteur hissed like a snake, grabbing her arm to pull her back on her feet. "Vous aimez me mordre, hein?" _'You like to bite me, huh?'_ Alice couldn't register his words. Unfortunately for her, he caught on quickly of her fear of blood and smiled horrifically wide. "Maintenant votre sang coulera." _'Now, your blood will run.'_

He didn't know how he reacted the way he did. Perhaps it was the adrenaline that forced his mind to run, his heart to race, and his body to attack. Josh sprung forward, daring to break his eyes away from his sickly opponents and to tackle Alice's capteur to break her free. The Angels themselves took the opportunity to disappear. Their business was done here. The men had broken through a softer patch of the wall, which was presumably made of wood; the capteur had taken most of the front of it, knocking him out instantly. His partner growled under his breath and grabbed Josh, pulling him away from the rubble to punch him in the cheekbone. He fell back but bounced up quickly in order to kick his opposer from under his legs, causing him to fall over and hit the ground hard. But the man was resilient; he got up, his long black hair rolling over his eyes, and threw him against the wall, sending a barrage of punches to his ribcage.

Alice jumped onto the man from behind, her eyes closed to shield her vision from the blood, though she was still a bit off. "Don't hurt him!" she screamed, this time digging her nails into his eye sockets. The man yelped and ran backward into the wall behind him a couple times. Alice's grunts quickly changed into cries, and though she held on as best as she could, she let go after three slams, dropping to the floor. Blood was dripping from her temple, mouth, and her ribcage at this point, and got in between her fingernails.

The man growled. "Quelle une fille sale." _'What a filthy girl.'_ He stomped on her stomach once, Alice groaning and twisting over to one side, trying to curl up into the fetal position. "Je vais vous tuer." _'I'm going to kill you.'_ His leather boot dropped down, aiming for her throat, but it would never reach its desired target. Josh had speared the man, landing approximately one meter away from where Alice was laying, and then hit him over the head with a rock the size of his hand. The chain to his handcuffs snapped from the pressure of the fighting. The man himself had been dazed and delayed, buying Josh a few moments time. He dashed over to Alice, snapped the chains of her handcuffs with his foot, and picked her up as quick as he could, though she seemed to be writhing in pain. His hands clutched her arm as he steadied her.

"Alice, listen to me, you need to run. Find the Doctor and escape this place," he said in a rushed voice. Through tired but confused eyes, she managed to focus her attention on him, trying desperately to not look at the blood that splashed his face.

"What about you?" she said, her voice cracking and weak. "and Erika?"

"Don't worry about us; we'll be fine. But you really need to leave. Please, Alice." Those green eyes of his, the color of plain, regular grass, pleaded her name.

"No." She shook her head furiously, beginning to panic at the thought of being alone. "What am I going to tell the Doctor when I find him and you're not there?"

"He'll know. He always does."

Her eyes were forming beads of tears against her will, but she couldn't explain why they were appearing. "Just come with me." She took his hand and tried to pull him along.

"I can't."

"Please don't leave me."

His mind was racing too hard to prevent his impulses He allowed a moment of pure quiet to pass before he took her face in his hands and kissed her lips. When they parted, his hands remained gently on her face, his thumbs lightly rubbing her skin. "Keep a song in your heart," he said in her ear. Alice stared at him with impossibly wide eyes. "Listen to what the music tells you. It won't lead you astray."

"Why are you doing this?" was all Alice could respond with. After years of being nearly beaten to death by her peers, someone was trying to protect her. It was an emotion she very nearly forgot about, but she still couldn't possibly understand it. She didn't know him that well, and yet he's telling her to leave him behind. "Why are you trying to save me? Why won't you come with me?"

He grinned. "To quote the Doctor's wife, 'spoilers.'"

"No, no more spoilers; tell me the truth!"

There were a couple groans beginning to sound from behind the two. One of the men was beginning to rise.

"Alice, run. Stay with the Doctor. And don't ever look back." She couldn't react to the events unfolding in front of her; her face was filled with confusion and fear. Josh glided behind her and guided her into running, making sure his hands didn't leave her shoulders. But eventually he had to let her go and stop running, and when he finally did, she didn't stop until she was out of his sight.

"Goodbye, love," he said to himself just as the man that he tackled through the wall woke up and cut off his vision with a bag, the two of them evanescing like the wind.

She didn't realize how deep in this alleyway the group had together gotten into. It felt like she was running for miles, with the added pain in her throbbing temple and ribcage. The pain was becoming too much for her, and the alleyway kept dragging on without any turns. Eventually, her feet skidded and she hit the ground on her stomach, unable to continue. She let out a hoarse groan upon impact; the pain etched across her face as it burst through her body like a lightning bolt.

"THE DOCTOR'S COMPANION HAS BEEN SIGHTED!" The metallic sound of the Daleks flooded the area, further panicking the fearful, injured adolescent. "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

'_Shit, so this is how I actually die…'_ she thought to herself, throwing her hand over her mouth to stifle her whimpers and breathing. She closed her eyes, expecting to be blown to bits.

"Alice, there you are, love!" There was a wheezing noise, a quite unearthly wheezing noise, and suddenly, she was no longer in that alleyway about to die from the Daleks. No, now she was within the safety of the TARDIS's interior. And the Doctor stood beside her. "Are you hiding? Why are you on the floor?"

"D-Doctor?" Her entire body trembled as she lifted her head, still trying to piece together what just happened. She looked up at him, half expecting to burst out into tears. There wasn't a single speck of dirt on him; he was as fresh and clean as when they first arrived. In comparison, Alice was a dirty street rat. He had been smiling at her, but the moment he laid eyes on her face, seeing all the blood and grime that wasn't supposed to be there on her delicate skin, it disappeared.

"What happened? Where's Josh?" He kneeled down to her and gently touched her back. The very touch of another being caused Alice to gasp in both fear and pain, and it startled the Doctor. His face was beginning to steel itself.

"Angels… kidnappers… running…" she said with a shaky voice. Her mind tortured her by replaying Josh's last few words to her. _'Alice, run. Stay with the Doctor. And don't ever look back. Alice, run…'_ She couldn't stop hearing those words in his voice, and she screamed, trying desperately to drown it all out. But in her condition, her consciousness granted her peace moments later, and she fell into the darkness of her mind.


End file.
